I have a low tech tank which back in october 2018 I converted from tubes to a fluval fresh and plant up until then my water sprite grew so fast I had to get rid of some so did the java fern . But since I have put the fresh and plant 3.0 the water sprite has all but gone and the java fern are not growing and are covered in algae. I was wondering if I have set the colours right this is what I have red 100% blue 18% white 100% pure white 100% warm white 100% may be these need tweeking to get the plants to start growing.
plants not doing well
- Thread starter bathawk
- Start date
Hello; First is I am not familiar with what "tubes" are. I sort of know about fluval because I use their root tabs for my amazon sword plants. So some more information might help.
About the water sprite I have had the same experience several times and I think I can tie in a theory with the java fern. Most plants can take nutrients directly from the water but some such as the swords do not so much. Water sprite I believe does take nutrients directly from the water.
I have had it grow fast when floating in the water and not rooted. My thinking is the water sprite starts out strong and then slows in growth as the nutrients are removed from the water. That you also throw out some of the excess growth also can mean the nutrients bound up in the plant bodies are removed and will not be released back into the water. So their may be simply less of the nutrients available.
If the "tubes" you mention are some sort of plant food then another possibility could be it had a nutrient mix better suited for the watersprite than the fluval.
My thinking on the java fern is the loss of shade being the bigger factor. Where it grows well for me is in a shaded part of a tank
Good luck
Im going out on a limb here but im going to say this is about you going from T8 or T5 lighting to LED lighting???
In which case, it would be helpful to know what specs and how many lights you used previously...
Unfortunately i dont know much about the fluval LED’s but if they are programable as it seems like you’re suggesting, it may come down to trial and error to see what works best on your tank???
You could otherwise wait and see if any members here use those lights and could give you some guidance or if you’re in a hurry try hitting up google and seeing if there are any tips for best low light tank settings...
In which case, it would be helpful to know what specs and how many lights you used previously...
Unfortunately i dont know much about the fluval LED’s but if they are programable as it seems like you’re suggesting, it may come down to trial and error to see what works best on your tank???
You could otherwise wait and see if any members here use those lights and could give you some guidance or if you’re in a hurry try hitting up google and seeing if there are any tips for best low light tank settings...
I know most plants like a good amount of blue. The ratio seems off I'd start with all at like 75% and tweak from there
I had t8 tubes before they were for plant growth and were not very bright was wondering if my set up is too intense yes I have jarva fern in another tank and they grow very well in the shaded part of the tank . I think I will try the tropical river pre set settings and see if there is an improvement
bathawk
How many T8’s bulbs were you running before???Coz it definitely sounds like you’ve gone from a low light to potentially high light setup by turning most of the settings to 100%
If in the manual there are recommended settings, i’d start with the lowest ones and then work my way up till you get the desired results... The problem is you’ll need to give each setting a bit of time to really see how well it actually works...
So good luck and have some fun with experimenting...
Hello; I understand now. The tubes are the fluorescent lights and now you use LED's. I made that switch a few years ago. I did not get the programmable LED's however. You have three ways to deal with lights. Intensity, duration and frequency.
If you still have the literature from the old lights perhaps check what the specs were and try to match them. I use LEDS in as close to 6500 K as I can find. I use a timer to deal with duration. Sounds like you can adjust intensity also.
Back to my other post I stand by my own experience. The rapid growth of water sprite followed by major decline in growth has happened without any change of the lights I was using.
If you have a shaded area of the tank try the java fern there.
If you still have the literature from the old lights perhaps check what the specs were and try to match them. I use LEDS in as close to 6500 K as I can find. I use a timer to deal with duration. Sounds like you can adjust intensity also.
Back to my other post I stand by my own experience. The rapid growth of water sprite followed by major decline in growth has happened without any change of the lights I was using.
If you have a shaded area of the tank try the java fern there.
